Farm Incubator

In this section:

Headwaters Farm Incubator Program is designed to assist in the development of new farmers. The program involves leasing out sections of EMSWCD’s Headwaters Farm to motivated, experienced individuals who will use it as a launching pad for their own farming endeavors.

About the Farm Incubator Program

Soil and Water Conservation Districts across the nation have been helping farmers for over 70 years. Typically, this work has focused on improving topsoil and water quality. However, one of the increasingly problematic threats to agriculture — both here in East Multnomah and across the nation — is the aging farmer population and the lack of qualified, experienced, and skilled individuals ready to take the helm and responsibly manage America’s farmland.

This breakdown isn’t due to a lack of interest, as the high demand for entry-level farmer learning opportunities shows. Instead, many new farmers face a combination of institutional, cultural and financial barriers, all of which greatly inhibits the development of new farmers and farm businesses. These barriers often consist of a lack of access to:

Capital: farmland, equipment and infrastructure

Peer support: Well established farm networks and support systems

Agricultural training

EMSWCD’s Headwaters Incubator Program serves as a launching pad for farm businesses by providing the resources necessary to helping farmers overcome these barriers. Our goal in doing so is to help keep good farmland in production while adding to the diversity of the local “farmscape.”

Questions about Headwaters Farm? Contact Rowan Steele, Headwaters Farm Program Manager, with questions or to schedule a tour: